Items of Interest July 17, 1915 Issue

Items of Interest

Plans for the leasing of oil and gas lands on the Osage reservation, Oklahoma, have been concluded between the government and representatives of the tribe, after conferences lasting ten days. The Indians will get far more oil and gas than heretofore. Existing leases, made long before the oil and gas possibilities of the lands were known, or those commodities had assumed their present importance, are to be definitely terminated. All middlemen, with their profits, are to be eliminated, and in a general way a system is to be established in which fair dealing, scrupulous regard for the rights of others, and a determination to see that the Indians are fairly treated, will prevail.

Heretofore the Osages have been receiving one hundred dollars a year for each gas well. Under the new system their revenues from this source will be greatly augmented, and their total gas income will be about one hundred thousand dollars. The system of disposing of oil and gas leases and properties at public auction, to the highest bidders, is recognized in the new agreement, and the amount of land that may be held under a lease will be cut down from thirty thousand acres, and even more, to forty-eight hundred acres.

What may prove of importance is the recent discovery of large deposits of molybdenite ore near Stave lake, Vancouver, B. C. The discovery, which was made several months ago, of a ledge of this mineral was followed by an examination by mining engineers. Molybdenite is extensively used for the purpose of hardening steel, and forms an important ingredient in the manufacture of heavy armament. Up to the present time the output of molybdenite has been practically controlled by Germany, owing to the fact that in that country alone were there any extensive refining works, the concentrates being treated by a process of electrical treatment. The greatest deposits of molybdenite were found in Hungary, but extensive supply areas are worked in Tasmania and New Zealand, the concentrates formerly being shipped to Germany for treatment.

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